Clutch lever mounting



Sept. 4, 1951 Hfv. REED CLUTCH LEVER MOUNTING -2 Sheets-Sheet 1' FiledApril 13, 1948 .fTu/e rel ef ar'o Zd Reed Patented Sept. 4, 19512,566,374 when IJJYER MQUN INQ Harold. V Re d. Ghirag l -e assiancr to.B re: Werner Qwmmt aa a o, a. cprvere i pof Illinois This inventionrelates-to improvements in the. friction clutches and more specificallyto an im.-. proved release lever .mounting or. assembly for the clutch.

One of the. .principalobjectsof .the present invention .is to simplifythe construction of .a re:- lease lever mount or. assembly for. clutchessuch as. contemplated herein, and to improve the. efficiency andoperation of such assembly.

An important feature .of this. invention is to. provide a friction.clutch with an improved lever release and operating assembly havingtherein a novel anti-.friction.actionlbetween the lever and clutchcover.

Another. objecthereoi is to providea clutch lever assembly that .is soconstructed and ar-. ranged that a .rolling'..or. rocking-contact is.effected between the movable lever .and the cover. thereby toreducewearv by minimizing. friction which may. be created between such relativelymovable parts. An additionaladvantage. of such. arrangement resides inthe factthat there. is a. reduction in .the amount of force. required tomanually operate the members. by which the. clutch is released.

Y A further object of the-present invention isto.

provide a novlantiefriction:levermountior a.

clutch which permits the lever to be arranged within the .coversothatitsradially outer region passes through ,anopening in the side wall of theclutch cover whereby a rolling. or rocking ace. tion takes place at theleverfulcrumwhich is ad: jaeent the. marginofthe. cover opening. Thisprovides for a reduction of; the over-all axial dimension or the clutchassembly. andnermits a closer or.- more compact coupling of thecomponent parts of theassemblr.

Additional objects, aims, and advantages of the. invention contemplatedherein will be; ap-;. parent to persons skilled in the art after. the.con-' struction' and operation-ofthe lever mount as:-. sembly isunderstood .from the within descrip-.. tion. It is preferred toaccomplish the. numerous objects of this invention.andto. practice. the.same, in substantially the manner hereinafter fully decI b danu as.-more pa tlcularlvpoint d ut in he a p n ed. claims. e er n e bein made.to -ac ompa r-insdxawinas whi o m a part of thisspecincat n;

nthe drawmss:

1 isaYe rtica-lrscctionalview of a; friction l tch su asused ormotovehicl s; an ne tr ctc i accordance vitha ty i a o m o th s ven on;

' Fla. 2- s a irasmcnmtr rea w tion. oi the wea th s own in: '1;-

2 Fig. 3 is an. enlar ed sectional detailtaken along the plane. ofline35-}. of. Eig. 1, showing details of the. lever. assembly;

Fig. 4 is a greatly enlarged viewof a portionv 5 ofthe lever andadjacent region of the cover. to. show. details. whichlmay. not be.apparent inthe. other figures.

The drawings are to be. understood as being moreor: less of adiagrammaticcharacter for the. purpose of disclosing a typical orpreferred form of the. improvements contemplated herein, and in thesedrawings like. reference. characters idIl-r. tify. the sameparts inthe.difierent views.

The clutch assembly. which been selected for illustration herein is-a.friction clutch of the. type generally usedinmotor vehicles for efiect:ing a coupling: of thaenEinecrank-shaft andthe. transmission shaft ofthe vehicle. A clutch as: sembly. of this character. preferably:comprises a stamped sheet metal cjoveniof dishedforlm which is.attached, at its peripheral margin by bolts 6-, tothe, flywheel l oftheengine, crank shaft. Also. there is an annular rinaelikepressureplate 8 arrangedwithin saidcover and: adapted to benor:v mallyurgedtoward the. flywheel l by a plurality of clutch packing. springs!) whichare interposed between saidpr'essureplate and theradial rear wall in ofthe cover plate. A clutch. driven disc in. has its hub ll splined to.thedriven transmis-;. sion shaft (not shown) and its outer region. ex:tends radially outward betw enthepressureplate a and theopposingface offiywheelfl where it sup; ports. annular friction facings; i2- which areadapted for relative. axial. yieldabilitv when bein compressed betweenthe. pr ssure plate and; fly: wheel race by he packin prin s. 9-, s wh nthe clutchis enga ed.

Ears. I 3. on therer pherv of ressu e pl te-Slate projected; therefmmhmuen ui able ertu s 14. orm d in the a ace t. d wa l .1; o the coverple 5:. hese ear anaeper u es a e. 9 a ran ed t tth r fiest a driv nonnect on be: tween the pressu e l te and the over bu l permitidependent. moveme t of the pre sure platefm d rections ow rd: and awaygr m t e fly heel nd ri es dis thus. the d ivi g oo ec en bctweea h ewess ate an l. Parts ar cau ed.- tbe: res u late.

ra i l u s 0k t o gh. arched PQ 'EZQQSAQ the cover plate which lie nlever op n n t .5 th re 3 such lugs, one for each release lever assemblywhich will be hereinafter described.

It will be apparent from the foregoing description and the accompanyingdrawings that there may be a plurality, preferably three, release leverassemblies arranged with the levers l6 positioned radial to the axisoflthe' pressure plate. For the sake of brevity, as-well as conveniencein describing these lever assemblies, the construction and arrangementof a single assembly will be explained. I

The lever I6 is preferably a sheet metal stamping which has beensuitably heat-treated for hardening. By reference to-Fig.- 1*,it will beseen that the major portion or radial inner region of the lever islocated within the cover 5, while the remaining outer portion or footprojects through an opening I! in the side wall b of the cover. Inlongitudinal section the foot has an S-shape which provides a convex orrounded contact surface at l8 which is engaged by a flat edge l9a of aforce transmitting floating link is having a generally H-shape. Anotheredge i927 of this link is engaged in a notch or seat [5a. inthe frontface of the pressure plate lug l5 Thus the foot of the lever is coupledwith the pressure .plate and a rocking fulcrum movement is effectedbetween the lever foot and the link when the lever is operated.

By reason of this arrangement, when the inner end of lever I6 is engagedby the usual shift or thrust collar (not shown) to move said endforwardtowards the flywheel, the foot will move rearward and pull thepressure plate in a direction axially away from the flywheel therebyreleasing the clutch driving members from the.

driven friction disc Illby compressing the packing springs 9. g

The side wall 5bof the cover surrounding the opening I! isfrusto-conical inshape so that it inclines radially inwardly andrearwardly toward the rear wall 5a, and at said openingll said wall hasa stepped region at 20 which is preferably.

formed with circumferentially spaced sockets or notches as shown forreceiving a pivot roller or pin 2| on which the lever fulcrumsg Oppositethis socket the'lever has a seat lBa which may conform with the contourof fulcrum pin 2| so that said seat surrounds-a considerable surface ofsaid pin. 7 T

-' The dimensions and shape of this socket means are of importance inthe present assembly, and,

in order to clearly emphasize-the features thereof reference is made tothe enlarged schematic ar-.- rangement shown in' Fig. 4. It will be seenthis socket has a central or intermediate flat region a: which islocated between the two arcuately curved retainer end regions 1/ and a.When the fulcrum pin 2! is' inactive, as when lever l6 is'in the clutchengaged position shown in Fig. 4, said pin will have a line contact withthe sockets at the outer edge of the flat region a: while'a portion ofthe circumference of said pin 2| may rest against the radial outwardretainer region 2: of the socket. A

swinging movement of'lever IE 'to release the the socket or notch"means- 29a is only slightly 4 greater than the diameter of the pin 2|thereby providing a minimum of clearance between these parts, and hencelimiting the amount of rolling travel of the pin on the cover.Experimentation and tests have shown that this clearance in the presentlever mounting arrangement-successfully prevents excessive annularortwisting movement of the inner region of the lever. This is of definiteadvantage since there is a certain force, due to the drag of the clutchthrow-out, tending to move the inner end of the lever in an annulardirecof the foot due tothe fact that-the lever foot will.

have swung radially inward. I 1

Yieldable means, which may take the form of a coiled expansion spring22' isinterposed between the inner portion orbodyof lever I6 and therear,

wall 5a, of the coverfor urging the inner endofsaid leverforward towardsthe flywheel and thereby retain the link I9-in assembly-with the lever;

'- foot and the pressure plate'lug l5. A stub lib,

stamped out from the body of lever. l6 enters the;

adjacent end of spring 22 tohold said spring engaged with the lever..Also aJtongue I'Ia bent inward from an'edge of cover opening I! in aposition that is radially outward or alongside the adjacent end ofspring 22 prevents radial movement or dislodgement. of said spring dueto cen-: trifugal force when the clutch assembly is rotated; There isample clearance between this. tongue and: the reinforcing side flangesllic ot the lever'so:

that there is no interferencewith the operation.

As before stated,-the link has an H-shapewhichpermitsthe sidewiseinsertion of of said lever.

its body portion or cross-piece .into an open T-shaped recess orkey-slot 23 at thelouter. end of lever I6, while the opposite end ofsaid crosspiece is placed in the gap of the bifurcated lug From theforegoing it is apparent 'that' the mcunting structurefor the releaselevers of a clutch and connection of the:.foot portions of said leversto the pressure plate, whereby rocking actions are effected between therelatively movable parts, is not only. simply and compactly conistructed for economy of space, but also requires a minimum ofmanual'efi'ortto'release the clutch.

While this invention has be'e'ndescribed in detail in itspresentpreferred form' orembodiment,

.it will .be apparentto persons 'skilledin the art,

after understanding the improvements, that various changes andmodifications; may be made: therein :without departingfrom'the spirit onscope thereof. Itis aimed in theappended claims to cover all suchchangesiand modifications;

Whatisclaimedisf 1. In a friction clutch, a'tlished cover having a 7said opening being arched away 'from' 'the driv- M within said cover; aclutch release lever having longitudinal side flanges andarranged withitsing element; a spring-pa'cked' pressure plate major portion betweensaid pressure mate and cover and with its fianges 'close to the sides bfsaid cover opening; a foot portibnbn said lever' 5 projecting radiallyoutside said cover through said o ening; a cu e regi bu g re rwardlyaway from said cover on said foot portion; a 11 on sai pressur pla e. pojectin through said cover arched region and having a recess therein; aforce-transmitting link extendingfrom said pressure plate lug throughsaid cover arched region, said link having a first edge seated in saidlug recess and having a second edge in line contact with said curvedfoot region of the lever for effecting a rolling fulcrum movement ofsaid lever with respect to said link; seats integral with said coverdefined by an inwardly notched region in said cover side wall at eachradial side of said opening; 'a pin cooperatively associated with saidseats and with the forward inner surface of said curved region of thelever foot, said pin spanning said opening and having limited rollingcontact with said seats to fulcrum said lever; a coiled expansion springinterposed between said cover and the radially inner portion of saidlever; a stub on said lever between the flanges thereof and entered insaid spring; and a tongue projecting inward from said cover at alocation radially outward from said spring, said stub and tonguedefining restraining means to maintain said spring against dislodgement,and the inner region of said tongue lying between the flanges of saidrelease lever for preventing sidewise movement of said lever.

2. In a friction clutch, a dished cover having a forwardly extendingside wall, said side wall for attachment to a driving element having anopening therein and the region radially outward from said opening beingarched away from the driving element; a spring-packed pressure platewithin said cover; a clutch release lever having longitudinal sideflanges and arranged with its major portion between said pressure plateand cover and with its flanges close to the sides of said cover opening;a foot portion on said lever projecting radially outward through saidopening and having a rearwardly curved region; a lug on said pressurplate projecting through said cover arched region and having a recesstherein; a force-transmitting link extending from said pressure platelug through said cover arched region, the rear portion of said linklying between said lever flanges, said link having a first edge seatedin said lug recess and having a second edge in line contact with saidcurved foot region of the lever for eifecting a rolling fulcrum movementof said lever with respect to said link; seats defined by an inwardlynotched region in said cover side wall at each radial side of saidopening, the ends of said notched regions defining abutments; anelongate pin in said seats in cooperative association with the forwardinner surface of said curved region of the lever foot and in spanningrelation to said opening, said pin being restrained against longitudinalmovement by said abutments and having limited rolling contact with saidseats to fulcrum said lever; a coiled expansion spring interposedbetween said cover and the radially inner portion of said lover; a stubon said lever between the flanges thereof and entered in said spring;and a tongue projecting inward from said cover at a location radiallyoutward from said spring, said stub and tongue defining restrainingmeans to maintain said spring against dislodgement, and the inner regionof said tongue lying between the flanges of said release lever forpreventing sidewise movement of said lever.

3. In a friction clutch, a dished cover having an opening in its sidewall; a sprinsena k d ressure plat w th n said cover; a o utoihr le solever having its major porti n within said co er. and having an outerfoot por i n pr je in throu h said cover openi g to the exteriorthereof; a curved region bulging rearwardly on said lever f et; a lug adacent the out p phera e n of said pressure plate; a forceetransmittinglink extending axially and wholly outside said cover, said link having afirst edge enga ed with the forward face of said lug, and having asecond edge engaged by said curved foot region for effecting rollingfulcrum movement of said foot region on said second edge; inwardlynotched regions in the side wall'of said cover defining seats on theouter surface of said cover at the sides of said release lever. the endwalls of said notched regions providing abutments; and a fulcrum pin theends of which have limited rolling contact with said seats and itsintermediate portion bridging said cover opening, said pin beingrestrained against longitudinal movement by said abutments, said pinbeing engaged by the inner surface of said curved region of the leverfoot thereby to fulcrum said release lever.

4. In a friction clutch, a dished cover having an opening in itssidewall; a spring-packed pressure plate within said cover; a clutchrelease lever having its major portion within said cover, and having anouter foot portion projecting through said cover opening to the exteriorthereof; a curved region bulging rearwardly on said lever foot; a radiallug adjacent the outer peripheral region of said pressure plate andhaving a recess in its forward face; a force-transmitting link extendingaxially and wholly outside said cover, said link having a first edgeengaged with said lug recess, and having a second edge engaged by saidcurved foot region for effecting rolling fulcrum movement of said footregion on said second edge; inwardly notched regions in the side wall ofsaid cover defining integral seats on the outer surface of said cover atthe sides of said release lever, the end Walls of said notched regionsproviding abutments; a fulcrum pin the ends of which have limitedrolling contact with said seats and with its intermediate portionbridging said cover opening, said pin being restrained againstlongitudinal movement by said abutments, said pin being engaged by theinner surface of said curved region of the lever foot thereby to fulcrumsaid release lever; spring means engaged with said cover and th innerportion of said lever for urging said lever portion towards saidpressure plate; and members projecting axially towards each other onsaid cover and said inner portion of said lever and defining means forrestraining said spring means against dislodgement.

5. In a friction clutch, a sheet metal cover having a forwardlyextending side wall which is particularly characterized by having anopening therein, and having well-defined inwardly notched regionsproviding spaced seats adjacent the sides of said opening, the ends ofsuch notched regions providing abutments; a fulcrum pin at least the endregions of which have limited rolling movement in said seats, said pinhaving its intermediate portion bridging said opening and beingrestrained against longitudinal movement in said seats by saidabutments, a springpacked pressure plate within said cover having aradial lug with 'a recess in its forward side; a sheet metal releaselever having its major portion within said cover, and having an outerfoot portion projecting through said opening and tulcrumed on said pin,said lever having longitudinal side flanges adjacent the radial edges ofsaid opening for guiding said lever and preventing sidewise movementthereof; a concavo-convex region formed in said foot at a locationradially The following references file of this patent:

Number 1,717,534 1,787,160

8 g REFERENCES crmn g are of record in UNITED STATES PATENTS H o v NameDate Wemp June 18, 1929 Moorhouse Dec. 30, 1930 Paton et a1 Oct. 4, 1932Hartley May 28, 1935 Reed June 1, 1937 Reed Dec. 7, 1937 Nutt et a1;July 27, 1943 Ziedler Mar. 4, 1947

